Team Sky, who are not a member of the MPCC, has backed a call for the substance to be regulated through the TUE system but added that as a team it has prescribed Tramadol throughout the season, but only in what it calls "appropriate scenarios".

Wondered if Froome's 2014 crashes happened because of "medicine".

Yeah, taking "medicine" will cause a rider in another team to take out your front wheel which is what caused his first crash in the TDF and bust his wrists.

More a Sky fault. They should have been all around Froome in the peloton, not hanging out all across the peloton. Having said that, when someone swerves that way, there's not much you can do.

Bit off topic but do you who the rider was who lost control of the bike and swerved to the right? Was it somebody from OPQS?

Froome was riding hard on left hand side of the road close to a ditch, he was poorly positioned. That yearjust prior to the Dauphine was when his Romandie TUE was revealed. He wasn’t the same rider at that time. Then his asthma was revealed. Froome looked like a guy who has just been ‘found out’. Then he crashed out of the Tour.

Mod hat on:

I'm quoting TheHog but this is directed at everyone. Do not turn this into another Froome thread please.

Only time I'd taken Tramadol from a friend for a back pain, I ended up seeing double next freaking day in work, got sent home for health and safety as I was developing paranoia then went straight to the pub to chill out at around 1100 hrs. Never again

Should add that the walk in to work that day was absolutely stunning, it was blue sky, early morning sun and summer heat and I felt amazing, then human interaction brought everything to **** very quickly.

Team Sky, who are not a member of the MPCC, has backed a call for the substance to be regulated through the TUE system but added that as a team it has prescribed Tramadol throughout the season, but only in what it calls "appropriate scenarios".

Wondered if Froome's 2014 crashes happened because of "medicine".

Yeah, taking "medicine" will cause a rider in another team to take out your front wheel which is what caused his first crash in the TDF and bust his wrists.

It looked more like a touch of shoulders.

Also, could it not be possible that only Froome’s crash on the Arenberg stage may have been caused in part by tramadol? That’s the more likely one IMO, as I’d want some painkillers if I was expected to ride on after that initial crash.

Team Sky, who are not a member of the MPCC, has backed a call for the substance to be regulated through the TUE system but added that as a team it has prescribed Tramadol throughout the season, but only in what it calls "appropriate scenarios".

Wondered if Froome's 2014 crashes happened because of "medicine".

Yeah, taking "medicine" will cause a rider in another team to take out your front wheel which is what caused his first crash in the TDF and bust his wrists.

It looked more like a touch of shoulders.

Also, could it not be possible that only Froome’s crash on the Arenberg stage may have been caused in part by tramadol? That’s the more likely one IMO, as I’d want some painkillers if I was expected to ride on after that initial crash.

he already had a wrist bandage when he started the stage. the wet roads were his problem. There is another GT contender who has fallen often since 2014 ....

What you have in the first link is a GB rider saying that there's a problem with Tramadol. Regardless of whether the Tweet within the tweet is there or not it's relevant to this thread, and I would have thought interesting to people visiting here.

My comment in the second link: "MAYBE NOT".

BTW congratulations on writing something that isn't as typo strewn as your published material

In some of the articles implicating tramadol in cycling crashes, authors make statements such as "like other opioids, tramadol causes drowsiness", as if that is a matter of fact, and furthermore a factual cause of crashing. I don't really believe it - but I can see how there might be a correlation, more like:

- on tramadol, feeling over-confident could cause a rider to "zone out" mentally in a situation where they should actually have been more nervous about their bike handling (blunting of fear response) - dopers not being on a consistent dose of tramadol, for example using a huge amount on a certain day, then "coming down" from the high when the dose is discontinued on another day (withdrawal symptoms)

What you have in the first link is a GB rider saying that there's a problem with Tramadol. Regardless of whether the Tweet within the tweet is there or not it's relevant to this thread, and I would have thought interesting to people visiting here.

My comment in the second link: "MAYBE NOT".

BTW congratulations on writing something that isn't as typo strewn as your published material

he gets worked up whenever we mention someone from GB in this section.

No need for tests regarding Tramadol. Just hook all the GB and Sky riders to a lie detector and ask them if they improve on it. My guess is it is performance enhancing just on the fact they all take a lot of it in competition and are urged by their staff to take it. Just one of their marginal gains.

ClassicomanoLuigi wrote:In some of the articles implicating tramadol in cycling crashes, authors make statements such as "like other opioids, tramadol causes drowsiness", as if that is a matter of fact, and furthermore a factual cause of crashing. I don't really believe it - but I can see how there might be a correlation, more like:

- on tramadol, feeling over-confident could cause a rider to "zone out" mentally in a situation where they should actually have been more nervous about their bike handling (blunting of fear response) - dopers not being on a consistent dose of tramadol, for example using a huge amount on a certain day, then "coming down" from the high when the dose is discontinued on another day (withdrawal symptoms)

You make good points. Opioids, like any medications, can affect people differently. In the 80's I was a farrier. Craigee can appreciate that. Being too tall and thin and shoeing many, many horses I developed serious back problems. I was given Tylenol and Codeine for pain. Unike others, it turned me into a working machine. No pain at all. It didn't blunt my senses at all, except maybe common sense. So I could totally see it blocking the pain for cyclists and have them oush past that point to something that could be dangerous. And as an added bonus, couple beers with the drugs and I was still good. Didn't work like that, but I did not get drowsy at all. Just felt like Superman.

veganrob wrote: So I could totally see it blocking the pain for cyclists and have them push past that point to something that could be dangerous. And as an added bonus, couple beers with the drugs and I was still good. Didn't work like that, but I did not get drowsy at all. Just felt like Superman.

Yes, it could also be mentally destabilizing, by affecting mood, sleep habits, energy ... if the dopers don't maintain a steady level of the tramadol. For a bunch of riders to be jacked-up on tramadol one day, then "falling asleep" on their bikes another day, when they stop taking the drug, that would be a very believable scenario.

If I were British, I would say that for tramadol to be permitted in pro sport is "bollocks"... it's so obvious why teams who are looking for short-cut methods would be tempted to use it. Since I found out about this subject I have been surprised by the media coverage on how the tramadol has been used as a loophole in the doping rules

In December 2017 British woman Laura Plummer was jailed for three years for bringing 300 Tramadol painkiller tablets into Egypt. While the sentence shocked many in the UK, the case shone a light on a painkiller addiction problem blighting millions of Egyptians.

Like many young Egyptians, he started by taking one quarter of a 100mg tablet to get high."I felt like I was a superhero," he says. "I could do anything."

Good job the GIRO start was in Israel not Egypt or that driver of the Sky van with the team meds in could have been in some trouble.

Or maybe it should be on a list of banned while in competition, but allowed for something like you're in the hospital with a broken bone and need surgery? Although I'd think for something like they the hospital can get a waver for a specific rider for just about any medication while they're in the hospital.

Koronin wrote:Or maybe it should be on a list of banned while in competition, but allowed for something like you're in the hospital with a broken bone and need surgery? Although I'd think for something like they the hospital can get a waver for a specific rider for just about any medication while they're in the hospital.

That's what TUEs are for and yes, you can get a TUE for anything you need while in hospital/for treatment etc.

In December 2017 British woman Laura Plummer was jailed for three years for bringing 300 Tramadol painkiller tablets into Egypt. While the sentence shocked many in the UK, the case shone a light on a painkiller addiction problem blighting millions of Egyptians.

Like many young Egyptians, he started by taking one quarter of a 100mg tablet to get high."I felt like I was a superhero," he says. "I could do anything."

Good job the GIRO start was in Israel not Egypt or that driver of the Sky van with the team meds in could have been in some trouble.

Tramadol is legal in Egypt, it's a controlled substance and prescription only. It can only be brought into the country with permission from, I think, the ministry of health. That's why she was sentenced, for possession.

This is getting a little political, I'll just point out that many sports in the very recent past and future either have or will be associating themselves with some very questionable places, much more than a coincidence like this.